News & Information

This is a handout which we use in the Library at the Help Sessions and it has been suggested that other members might find it useful. It was compiled to help people who visit Weston Library and includes reference to the facilities accessible from our local library but these may well be available wherever you live - so ask at your own local library. 

Other useful web site addresses can be found by looking through the Monthly Updates which also include some helpful suggestions.

Seasons change, the clocks go back, Halloween has happened and Guy Fawkes is about to be commemorated with bonfires and fireworks just as the autumnal coloured leaves drop from the trees and (far too soon?) Christmas Decorations begin to appear.  How did our ancestors mark the seasons?  This project into British Life and Culture is intended for school age children but you can go through the entire year looking at examples of traditional activities which may have entertained our families. 

Parish Boundaries

• Do you know the area covered by the parish in which your family lived?    You can see current parish boundaries at a new facility called Parish Finder.  Enter the area in England in which you are interested and then click on the map where your ancestors lived and you will find the parish and adjacent parishes listed in the side panel.  The Parish boundaries will have changed over the years but it does give an overview of the situation today and the strange shape of some parishes.  Look at the boundary for Winscombe for example.
• Another site for locating adjacent parishes is the Parish Locator  This is a site I have been using for years and it lists parishes within a specific distance.  It is free to download and use - the only problem that I have found with it is that the distances are as the crow flies so consequently Lavernock in Glamorganshire, South Wales is listed as 9.7 miles West by North East of Weston without taking into account the Bristol Channel.  It uses the historic County names and boundaries. 

Weston-super-Mare Library

• Our WW1 exhibition is back in the main library in Weston-super-Mare for November – so do visit if you haven’t already done so – Why not come in on a Saturday when you will have the chance to meet other Society members?
• Saturday afternoons at the Library have been a little quiet of late.  If you have a query and can get to Weston-super-Mare Library between 2.00pm and 3.30pm you will find some eager helpers ready and willing to assist you.  The people who have been coming in have brought some very interesting problems with them.  Saturday we were faced with a challenge which included Italian and Hungarian ancestors, links with Dr Barnados, the 2nd World War, London Workhouses and legal adoptions so this just shows that although the Local Studies section is full of information about North Somerset  the range which we can get asked about is very much wider. We learn a lot as well!  For the record we couldn’t answer all the queries immediately but could suggest avenues for further research and often a 2nd opinion can be very useful.

Research Forum

• If you can’t get to the library why not try our Research Forum on the web site? Thank you to all who add comments to the Research Forum. You never know who will read your query and reply.  . It may be someone who is trying to help you having no connection with your family but is keen on researching or it may be someone who shares your interest in this particular family and you may even be able to help them in return.  It does help if you put the SURNAME in UPPER CASE – it makes the surname stand out.   
• There is another benefit in posting your queries here because the message can be seen by people who are surfing the net looking for a particular name.   Anyone putting the name of their ancestor in inverted commas into a search engine such as Google perhaps coupled with the place where they lived may find other examples of queries posted on other mailing lists or web sites.  See the September 2014 Update  for use of Search engines in Family History.   
•  Last week the Society received a small water-colour painting named on the back as “Simon Palmer, Parish Clerk”.  This was sent to us because the owner had found a series of questions and comments put on our web site in 2011 about Simon PALMER and wanted the portrait to go to a good home and for this we are very grateful.  It greatly resembles in style and size the series of paintings which make up the “Weston Worthies” – There are several Journal articles on our web site concerning them.  We will be consulting the Museum about adding it to the collection once some more research has been done on Simon PALMER.  In the meantime a copy has been sent to the person who first asked the question about Simon Palmer, to his great delight!

Ancestors who were servants?

• Tiger Aspect Productions are looking for people whose ancestors lived or worked in a grand house in the Victorian period. Was one of your ancestors a butler or a hall boy? Was your great-grandmother a housemaid or a cook? Did your forbears employ domestic staff? If so Tiger Aspect would love to hear from you. They are looking to speak to people of all ages who have a direct family connection to a historic house. They would like to hear what you know about your ancestor’s life and see any information you might have. They are not looking for comprehensive knowledge, just a connection and an interest to learn more. If you are interested in taking part, please contact Alice Ankeny at Tiger Aspect

Wills

• The British Government has produced a site called Find a Will which allows you to  search for the will or probate of any person in the UK who died in or after 1996 and download the will for a fee of £10.00. 
• You can also search for the will of a soldier who died while serving in the British armed forces between 1850 and 1986 and download their will for the same price. 
• You do need to know roughly the year in which the person died. 
• For wills between 1858 and 1996 you will need to apply by post – the cost is the same – full details from here  where you can download the application form. 

Pre 1841 Censuses

• Some of you will have noticed that the 1801 census for Huntspill has recently been put on our site.  This was found in the Baptismal Register for Huntspill.
• Censuses for a few parishes for the 1801, 1811, 1821 and 1831 have survived.  This one lists the name of the Head of the Household and the number of people living at that address.  Of course they may not all have the same surname at each address but it might be possible to reconstruct the parish for 1801.
• Genuki does have some
• There are at least two books which I know of which might help in finding other pre-1841 censuses
  • Census Listings, 1522-1930: Holdings in the British Isles by Gibson and Medlycott - which is in our Society Library and available for loan
  • Pre-1841 Censuses and Population Listings in the British Isles by Colin R Chapman
• It is worth enquiring at the Record Office of the county where your family lived if any have survived - In Bristol Record Office is the 1831 census for Bitton which lists name of the head of the household and the age and sex of others at that address but not names.  However I have been able to identify my family on it.

Society Meetings

• David Milner, our Treasurer, gave a very interesting talk at our October meeting about the background to some of the military memorials he had researched pointing out the very human stories behind the words carved in stone.  He also included much of local interest including the story of George BANWELL who was buried in Banwell but David queried the accuracy of his tombstone.
• He also spoke about Joel FISHER, a veteran of the Waterloo Campaign who may well have been suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) when he killed his wife in the London Inn in Weston-super-Mare.   Joel FISHER never made it to the Weston Worthies but he did add his bit to history as this drawing of him was the first illustration to be published in one of the local papers.
• Our November meeting will be a Members Evening when you are asked to bring along any memorabilia which you have about members of your family and be prepared to talk about it (and your family) for a few minutes.  This will be followed by a short quiz, raffle and refreshments getting you in the mood for the Christmas season as we do not meet in December.
• We will have a stand at the Rotary Christmas Charity Fair at the Winter Gardens on Saturday Dec 6th - come along and see us there. We offer help in your research but other stands will give you a marvellous opportunity to buy cards, decorations and presents there.

The society was represented at the Open Day of the Bristol & Avon FHS on the 27th September – this year held at UWE Exhibition Centre which gave space for numerous stands from Societies, Record Offices, Military Associations and Commercial Firms which supporting research plus some interesting talks.  It was an excellent day but I believe that the number of people attending was disappointing and this has been a trend at many of the Shows this year.  Why is this?  Do people really believe that they can sit at their computer screens and find out all they could possibly need to know about their family?  Maps, Books, Postcards and local knowledge (which was available from many Local History Societies and Groups which were there) is invaluable to breaking down those inevitable brickwalls.  If this trend continues it will cease to be financially viable to host these events. 

Please support any Fairs in the area where you live - A list of Family History Fairs can be seen on the Geneva Site -  just in case they might be where you are - and especially  make a note of the South West Area Group of Family History Societies – SWAG - which will hold its event in the Winter Gardens in Weston on Saturday May 16th 2015.

• Our first meeting of the Autumn session had an encouraging number of members present to hear a very detailed and carefully researched presentation from Andrew Janes about the involvement of members of his family in WW1. Tracing the WOOLDRIDGE family from their farming roots in Devon to the fields of Flanders became a textbook exercise in family history research.  He drew attention to the excellent web site The Long, Long Trail,  a site all about the soldiers, units, regiments and battles of the British Army of the First World War.
• We have received advance notice that the LDS Church in Weston-super-Mare is considering opening a small Family History Centre in its premises in Ellenborough Park North. This is exciting news because it should increase the facility for researching your family in other parts of the country and abroad.  We will let you have the details as soon as we have them.  At the moment the nearest LDS Family History Centre is the one in Wells Road, Bristol – see here for information about the Bristol Centre.
• Old Maps are often fascinating – do try this for maps of Great Britain – Go to this site – enter  Weston-super-Mare (or wherever your ancestor came from) and select which map group you wish to view.  It is run by the National Library of Scotland enabling you to access and view over 86,000 maps as high-resolution, colour, zoomable images. The maps date between 1560 and 1961 and relate primarily to Scotland but they also have maps of areas beyond Scotland, including maps of England and Great Britain, Ireland, and Belgium (trench maps of WW1)  
• If you have Irish Ancestors you may find this new site of help to you.  Included on this website are a collection of digitized maps of Dublin and Ireland, viewable in Google map format, a revised and improved townland database, scans and extracts from a number of directories, a guide to the important, and unique, system of land divisions of Ireland (townlands etc), and a brief introduction and guide to Irish records.
• The Federation of Family History Societies does list some free web sites here.

Where did they say they were born?

It is sometimes difficult to decide where an ancestor was born from the place given on a census. I was born in Bristol and have always found the series of books by Derek Robinson and Vic Wiltshire on the “Correct way to speak Bristol” or as they put it “Krek Waiter’s Peak Bristle” which gently poke fun at the Bristolian accent great fun.  From a Family History point of view these books emphasise how easy it is to have phonetically spelt entries on censuses.  For example - would you recognise these places?  You may need to read them aloud to get the best effect but it does give an idea of a West County dialect.

• Annum                 for Hanham
• Ashen Core         for Ashton Court
• Bart Nil               for Barton Hill
• Count’s Louse     for Council House
• Grape Written      for Great Britain
• Port Zed              for Portishead
• Shrampton           for Shirehampton
• Snanz                  for St Anne’s
• Wessun               for Weston
• Wess Vinglun      for West of England
• Wive Alley          for Wye Valley

More examples of the Bristolian dialect can be found here

Encouraging the younger generation

The problem with family history research is that most people do not get involved until they are of mature years but in order to attract younger enthusiasts the Devon FHS has introduced the “Acorn Club”.  There is some  helpful advice about encouraging young people on this site -  it includes ideas for activities which you might like to try with young relations. 

I have also just come across a book called Family History for Kids by Emma Jolly which was written for children aged 8 to 13 giving ideas about how they can find out more about their family backgrounds.   Although published in 2007 the basic information is still good and it includes interesting projects – in fact some adult beginners might also find it helpful! 

Making the most of our own web site

Several times recently I have put someone in touch with a member who is researching the same name.  I can only do this if all members put their research names on our Members’ Interests.  I note that it is over 2 months since any new names were added to the list and I know we have had some new members during that time.  If you haven’t already done so please add your names – it can be such a help to share ideas and information about your family with someone who shares an ancestor and you never know what new facts you will find.

I realise that if you are reading this you are using the site but do use the research forum if you have a query – it has been a bit quiet lately and I know we have many members who are very knowledgeable and can give help and advice.   In the August and September Updates I suggested that by using the Research Forum or by adding a comment to the Update you might like to share information about useful sites you have used - but no one has added anything yet. 

Dates for your diary

During October the Library Help Sessions will continue as usual every Saturday afternoon from 2.00 – 3.30 pm in the Weston Town Hall and the Chapel in Milton Road Cemetery will open for the last time this year (until the Spring) on Sat Oct 11th from 1.30 – 3.30pm. 

Our Speaker for the October meeting, Oct 28th,  is our own member (and Treasurer) Dave Milner who will share his extensive knowledge of family history research when he talks about researching your family by way of Memorials.

If you missed our WW1 exhibition - during October it is at the Campus Library, Highlands Lane, Locking Castle, Weston-super-Mare, BS24 7DX

Another month, another Update!   Let’s start with a request for members to add anything which they have found helpful to them in their hunt to discover their past. Just add your comment after this item. These Updates started at the beginning of 2012 and looking back over them I can see that there have been several instances of new resources becoming available on the internet.   I have highlighted those which have come to my knowledge but I’m sure that other members will have found more so please can we get to hear of them.

Sadly we have just lost another member.  Our sympathy goes to Jill Gamlin following the death of her husband Ian.  Ian and Jill have held a family membership for many years and often attended meetings.  Ian gave us a very interesting talk about his sea-faring ancestors in the north east demonstrating that although we are called the Weston-super-Mare & District FHS our members’ interests are very widespread. I remember Ian's surprise when he discovered that before moving "up north" his family actually came from Somerset!

September is a time to review our family history – and to look again at some of the areas which have become a stumbling block.  Refreshed after the summer when holidays and gardening seem to take priority it is an excellent idea to take a fresh perspective.   Going back through my research to fill in the gaps;   it’s surprising how much more has become available in the last few years – it’s worth the effort to check your earlier research.   You may need different research skills than before.  The old IGI on microfiche had some doubtful patron entries but has been superseded by Familysearch.org (this is a link which limits your search to the UK & Ireland). Scroll down the page to see the range of resources available some of which alow you to see scanned images of the original.  As a free aid to research it should not be overlooked.

   During August there was a fascinating exhibition of the History of Worle presented by the Worle History Society. More details on their web site.  The members of that Society are to be congratulated for the work they all put in to produce such an interesting and well presented event.

We had a stand at the Worle exhibition and Graham Payne was able to help some of the visitors investigate their families.

This photo is showing Graham ready to offer assistance.  As he has ancestors from this area he had a great deal of local knowledge as well as access though our web site to all the transcriptions which he has made available to our members (assisted in some cases by other members who are also transcribing and checking). 

The rate at which the transcriptions are appearing is amazing and we all thank Graham for his dedication to this work.

   Some of us (or our parents) may have had Honorary Aunts and Uncles – those of you who have seen our WW1 exhibition in the Library will have seen how I managed to trace one of these from information sent on one of those embroidered cards from France to my mother.  But who was Uncle Georgie?  Why didn’t I ask her while she was still alive?! As far as I knew she didn’t have an actual Uncle George.

This is only a very small part of our WW1 exhibition which will move to the Library in Worle throughout September.  If you can get there - do spend some time reading the stories which our members have researched.  There are more in the current edition of Buckets & Spades.

This year there has been a concentration on the effect of the 1914-18 war on members of our families both those who served and those who supported the country in other ways at home.  There have been some really thought provoking exhibitions staged about the Great War. 

• One of these is at the Museum of Somerset in Taunton.  Based in Taunton Castle, this brilliant museum is well worth a visit anyway for all the artefacts depicting the development of life in Somerset.    The WW1 Exhibition is on display at the Museum of Somerset until  3 January 2015. The museum is open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (last entry 4.30 pm) Tuesday to Saturday, and Bank Holiday Mondays. Entry to the museum and the exhibition is free. For further information visit: Somerset  Remembers
• For a really atmospheric WW1 experience I can heartily recommend the exhibition staged by the Museum in Wells, which includes a replica of a trench with realistic sound effects.  This one will be there for four years and will be updated each year.  At the moment they are focussing on what happened in 1914 but in 2015 this will be changed to look at 1915 and so on.  For further information visit:  Wells Remembers. 
• Don’t forget the Five Lives – Five Stories Exhibition which continues at Weston Museum until 14th Dec 2014.  Entry to the exhibition if free and It documents the lives of five different North Somerset people and the part they played in the Great War.  See Five Lives – Five Stories for more details.

This month I’ve been looking at some of the videos on YouTube which may or may not be helpful to furthering your research.

• National Archives – How to use the National Archives for Family History Research  This was made in 2012 and there have been some changes since but the talk does take this into consideration
• The Family History Show with Nick Barrett has some videos online one of which includes reference to ancestry to King Canute!
• At a members’ evening Paul Tracey showed us some ways of using Google to better effect when researching family history.  There are a series of videos available entitled The Google Genealogist – Parts 1 to 5 and New Tips and Tricks.  You may already know all these methods but you may not!
• There are 75 videos put on by the Barefoot Genealogist (employed by Ancestry) from which you can choose a topic which interests you.  If you are researching American links in your family these may be particularly useful, although some of her examples are British.   An example is this one about finding a woman’s maiden name.
• If you can recommend any other please add them as a comment to this item.

Looking Ahead

• Our September Meeting will welcome  Andrew James  talking about his own family research  “From Farmer’s fields to Flander’s Fields”
• The Chapel in the Milton Road Cemetery will be open as usual during the 2nd Saturday, Sept  13th,  from 1.30 until 3.30pm
• The Help Sessions every Saturday afternoon in the Library from 2.00 until 3.30pm
• As I mentioned in the last Update  - The Open Doors weekend takes place on the 2nd weekend of September the 13th & 14th and the Bristol & Avon FHS has its Open Day on September 27th
• Look out for a visit to the Who do you think you are?Live event in Birmingham in April 2015. April 16th - 18th.  If you haven't already done so please can you let Brisn Airey know if you would like to go - actual date to be arranged.
• Keep May 16th 2015 free for a visit to the SWAG fair at the Winter Gardens, Weston-super-Mare.  Details include a list of all the exhibitors.  

Finally, look out for news about a new feature on our web site.  A welcome new facility is being worked on which when introduced will be a tremendous asset to all our members researching local families.

   August is always a quiet month where family history is concerned.  We do not have a monthly meeting but that does not mean that research stops.  The Help Sessions continue in the Library every Saturday from 2.00 pm until 3.30 pm.  If you have not been in before, why not come in one Saturday to discuss your research - you do not have to be a member to come in for help.   There is a bonus if you are researching a local family because there is a wealth of information in the Local Studies Library.    This includes family trees of local families which have been produced by Life Member, Brian Austin as well as his transcriptions of other documents the originals of which are in the Somerset Heritage Centre. 

 Last month the Library Staff gave a tea-party as a “Thank you” for all the volunteers who help out in the library. You can see that we were well represented – just count the blue shirts – and two of our members were not wearing their shirts that afternoon!    

July saw our Open Day and to echo Brian Airey’s words of thanks at the last meeting - We were very grateful for all the help given in setting up and running the event and thanks also go to those members of other Societies who travelled to Weston to demonstrate what they had to offer.  Although there was free entry to the Open Day we covered our costs – thanks to the draw, the refreshments, the sales from the stand and a couple of new members. There are a few photographs elsewhere on this site.  The WW1 Memories exhibition which was a major part of the Open Day has moved to Weston Library during August – if you couldn’t get to the Open Day, do go and spend some time looking at the exhibits and perhaps reading some of the research which has been undertaken by members. 

Just after the Open Day we were saddened to hear of the death of Sheila Anderson.  With a Membership No of 2, Sheila was a founder member (and honorary life-member) of our Society.  Her experience of family history research, which dated back to before Computers, resulted in knowledge and understanding of records which she willingly shared with other members.  She was a committee member for many years and filled the roles of Secretary and Chair at various times.  Sheila was frequently to be seen behind the stand at Family History Fairs and was well known to other Societies. 

 Another life member, Brian Austin, was our speaker at the July meeting giving a thought provoking talk about what we can expect to discover about our families if we rely on the reported word.  Like Sheila he started researching his family and the local area many years ago.  Brian has become the local expert in Weston Families.  Over the past 50 years he has seen many changes not only in society itself but also in the methodology of research.  He questioned whether there had been an improvement!

The BBC programme “Who do you think you are?” is celebrating 10 years and 100 episodes with a look back at its past programmes on August 6th and will start Series 11 on August 7th with a look at the ancestry of the actress Julie Walters.  This usually means that this will encourage some new people to start their family history research because it all looks so easy on the TV!  The reality is that although you can make a rapid and encouraging start there will come a time when you will need all the perseverance and lateral thinking you can muster.  This is where a Family History Society can be a tremendous help.  To be able to talk to others who have met with the same problems and can offer suggestions is one of the benefits of membership.  Come to a meeting, describe your stumbling block on our Research Forum or come into the library where two or more brains are often better than one. 

If you have found a resource which is new to you please share it with the rest of us – you can use the Research Forum to do this.

• The North Somerset Library Services online services offers a wide range of options which can be used at home using your library card number.  Until it was pointed out to me at the last meeting I had overlooked the very last item on this page – The Zinio eMagazine – this enables you to read online 25 different current magazines including “Your Family Tree” and other magazines which may interest you.  If you live in another area check with your own library to see what it offers.
• The Chapel in the Cemetery will be open to the public on Saturday afternoon of August 9th from 2.00pm – If you haven’t seen inside now is the time to do so and perhaps check up where either your ancestors or other well known Weston forefathers were buried. 
• Whilst considering resources for WW1 Research I was recently made aware that the Commonwealth War Grave Commission has introduced a section entitled “Discover 14-18” which gives greater detail about the course of the war.
• With more images of original documents becoming available you might find this free online course from the National Archives on how to read old hand writing helpful. It is a step by step guide to various styles of writing which allows you to attempt to transcribe various samples.  It certainly takes practice to read some of them but there are some helpful tips.   There is also a course for reading Latin
• If any of you have Scottish relatives who died in WW1 you will find this site useful.  It has been created to collect together all the many and various memorials to the servicemen and women of World War 1

Looking forward to September

• Look out for the Heritage Open Days during the weekend of 11th-14th September.   To discover what will be open in Bristol take a look at this web site  and for places to visit during Somerset Open Doors see this site
• Bristol & Avon FHS will be holding their Open Day on Saturday 27th at  The University of the West of England Conference Centre, Frenchay, Bristol BS34 8QZ. Open 10.00am to 4.00pm For more details and a list of all the exhibitors see their website.
• Our speaker at the end of September will be Andrew Janes who will be talking about tracing members of his family From Farmers Fields to Flanders Fields.

If you are using the holiday season to visit those parts of the country well known to your ancestors don’t forget that local history groups as well as local libraries and museums may well have the answer to your questions. Come back refreshed and ready to knock down those brick walls!

We are looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our Open Day on Saturday 12th July. It will be opened by the Town Mayor, Councillor Ros Willis, at 10.00am and entry is free. 

We have noticed lately that the attendance at other Family History Open Days in neighbouring counties has been less than in the past – possibly due to all the advertising which tells you how easy it is to trace your family?  But, those who do come always seem to remark – “I didn’t know so much help was available!”  

If you are thinking twice about coming to ours – please think again because not only do we have stands from Family History Societies and Local History Groups (The full list of exhibitors can be seen here) but we also have an exhibition put together by Caroline from members’ own research about WW1. It’s not too late to contact Caroline with anything which you have for display.

If the excellent edition of Buckets & Spades which Paul has just produced on the same theme is anything to go by the exhibition will be fascinating.  If you are not yet a member there will be copies available at the Open Day for sale.

Some of our members will be at the Library that afternoon as usual for the Free Advice Session from 2.00 until 3.30, but we will also have a Help Desk at St Paul’s running all day so if you are stuck, or have not started to research yet, you should be able to get individual help in either place.

Whilst talking about Open Days - The annual “Who do you think you are? Live” is moving from London in 2015 and will be at the National Exhibition Centre near Birmingham from 16th-18th April.  This is a little nearer us so you might consider a visit if you haven’t done so before.   As this date clashed with the one originally chosen for the SWAG (South West Area Group of Family History Societies) Fair at the Winter Gardens in Weston - that will now take place on May 16th 2015. So make a note of that date in your diaries for next year.

At our last meeting I mentioned a problem I had discovered with a small part of the transcription and images of the 1851 census of St Paul’s Bristol.  Ancestry has only filmed every other page, and out of the 54 pages involved FindmyPast has omitted 30 of them.  I wondered whether some of  the originals had been lost - but no – The Genealogist has filmed the complete set!   I spotted this because a family I was looking for went over two pages and of course both Ancestry and FindmyPast produced only half the family (not the same half!) making a complete nonsense of their transcriptions.  However I did find the complete family on The Genealogist and this led me to wonder how often this happens especially when we say we cannot find a person on a particular census – do check that the page numbers are consecutive and that no schedule numbers are missing.  This can’t be the only time it has happened.

• Ancestry has gone over the WW1 Service Records and Pension Records for 1914-1920 and re-indexed them to include the names of spouses, next of kin and other family members shown on these records.  This might enable you to narrow down the records for a man with a fairly common surname by searching for next of kin etc.
•  Should you be researching Canadian records – Familysearch  has just added births from Ontario from 1869-1912
• The Welsh Newspapers  now cover 1804-1919 – free online and are responsible for this July Update taking 3 times as long to write as I get side-tracked finding relations I didn’t know I had!

At our next monthly meeting – on 29th July - Life member and Local Historian, Brian Austin, looks back on the characters and events he has chronicled during his 50 years of Weston research. He’s called his talk “50 years and still at it!”  This society grew out of some adult education classes he ran at Weston College when he shared his great enthusiasm and knowledge with eager students - some of whom are still members today.  He also single-handedly ran research sessions both in Bristol and Weston Libraries.  This was before computers when Brian will say you had to do the research the “proper way”!  To help people research Weston families he did the original transcriptions of the censuses and other local records which are still available in Weston Library along with many files of family trees of local families.

We do not have a meeting in August but don't forget that anyone can ask for help via our Research Forum and of course any member can offer help by replying with a comment.  If you have any ideas for Speakers you would like to listen to or topics you would like included in 2015 I would be glad to hear from you.